Asbestos cancer, mesothelioma
A widower who saw his wife die from the asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, has received compensation from his former employers after he was also diagnosed with an asbestos related disease.
David Warnes, 71, from Roundhay, Leeds, cared for his wife, Maureen, during her painful eight month battle with mesothelioma.
She was exposed to asbestos from his work clothes when he was a fitter employed by CEGB at Skelton Grange Power Station from 1966 to 1969.
Just months after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2005 David himself was told he had asbestosis, a debilitating lung condition in January 2006.
There is no cure for mesothelioma and often sufferers die within months of diagnosis. David nursed his wife through her devastating illness while suffering from asbestosis and worrying he might one day develop the same fatal condition as his wife.
She sadly died July 2006 leaving behind four children and six grandchildren.
Asbestos compensation experts
David instructed asbestos compensation experts Thompsons Solicitors to pursue claims against CEGB, now RWE NPOWER PLC on behalf of himself and his wife.
Thompsons was successful in securing substantial compensation after RWE NPOWER agreed to pay compensation for the death of David’s wife due to negligently exposing her to the asbestos brought home on his work clothes.
David said: “I feel devastated about what has happened to me and my family as a result of simply going to work.
“It was a great shock to discover that my wife was dying from cancer caused by asbestos dust I brought home on my work clothes. I worked around asbestos every day during the 1960s, but I was not warned that it could affect my health or my wife’s. It is incomprehensible that by working to provide for my family I was putting them in grave danger.”
Marion Voss from Thompsons Solicitors said: “Compensation can never make up for the loss of Mr Warnes’ wife and for the asbestos related condition he will live with the rest of his life. He went through unimaginable distress while caring for his wife when she was terminally ill and now in addition to his bereavement he has to contend with suffering from asbestosis and the anxiety that he may suffer the same fate as her. However, by bringing a successful claim against his former employers he has been able to hold them to account.”
Asbestos disease diagnosis? Talk to us for advice and support on how to secure compensation.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, we can support you with advice on how to make a claim.
The process will be explained in plain English and with no obligation – our priority is to provide you with the best, expert advice on whether you have a valid case for compensation, and to signpost you to further sources of support.
There are strict time limits applied to making a claim – usually three years from the date of diagnosis. It doesn’t matter if the exposure to asbestos took place – as it often does – decades ago, the three year time limit applies to the date of knowledge of diagnosis or date of death.
For further information, visit our How to Make A Compensation Claim page.